Note: Bay Area News Group did not photograph this concert because the artist did not permit media photographers into the show.

SAN JOSE — Lady Gaga brought us to her world.

“Welcome to Venus,” she said to the nearly 14,000 fans who filled the SAP Center Tuesday night. “This is the planet that I have hailed from since my birth.”

That explains a lot — from Gaga’s outrageous outfits and antics to her bizarre concert tours and public appearances. Lady Gaga finally confirmed what we’ve suspected all along:

She’s from outer space.

And she has super powers. Most notably, she can delight earthlings like few other pop stars on any planet. It doesn’t always happen when she takes the stage, but it certainly did on Tuesday.

The vocalist’s latest road show, artRave: The ARTPOP Ball, is an absolute smash. It’s light years better than her previous outing, the bloated, convoluted Born This Way Ball Tour, which lumbered through San Jose in early 2013. And it’s nearly as spellbinding as the earlier Monster Ball Tour, which was one of the best pure pop-music spectacles of the last 10 years.

This turn of events shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that Gaga has long ranked as one of the savviest entertainers in the game.

She made a ton of mistakes on the Born This Way Ball, but repeated none of them on ARTPOP. The former was an overly long affair, weighed down by complicated theatrics and heavy-handed themes that stole attention from the music.

This time around, Gaga is offering up an expertly paced, streamlined show — it’s nearly 40 minutes shorter than the Born This Way Ball. The theatrics are fun and comparatively straightforward, and they never overshadow the music. There’s a strong focus on connecting with the crowd, which is what Gaga does best.

The set design was marvelous. Gaga has obviously noticed the fervor around Disney’s “Frozen” and here she’s created her own winter wonderland. Let’s just say that Elsa would probably be envious.

The main stage is designed to look like a giant igloo, which houses her live band, and there’s a piano encased in icy crystals. Raised walkways run above the arena floor, allowing the star and her fellow dancers to boogie in the sky.

Gaga opened the roughly 100-minute show with the title track to “ARTPOP,” her chart-topping third studio album from last year. She followed that with five more “ARTPOP” offerings — “G.U.Y.,” “Donatella,” “Venus,” “Fashion!” and “Manicure.” Each of the tunes sounded better live than they do on record.

“I want you to have the time of your life tonight,” Gaga told the crowd early in the evening.

She certainly did her part. Gaga unleashed such longtime fan favorites as “Poker Face,” “Telephone” and “Just Dance.” She also connected with her adoring fans — lovingly nicknamed “Little Monsters” — with a type of sincerity that is rare in the entertainment business.

She gave several pep talks, all of the “I’m OK, You’re OK” variety, and went out of her way to comfort the crowd. She complimented one audience member for wearing a Joy Division shirt — which is surely something worth complimenting — and read a fan letter out loud.

“Welcome to a place where we judge no one,” Gaga said.

Of course, Gaga is well known for delivering one big shocker per tour.

During Monster Ball, she shot flames from her undergarments at a giant fish creature. Then there was the crazy birth scene — where “baby” Gaga appeared from a giant inflatable torso — in the Born This Way Ball. The current tour’s talker comes as Gaga strips to nearly nothing in a costume change right before our eyes.

Yet, that wasn’t the evening’s defining moment. That came when Gaga left the special effects behind and simply sat at the piano to perform a stunning solo version of “Born This Way,” accompanied by two audience members.

Jim Harrington is the pop music critic for the Bay Area News Group. He began writing about the Bay Area music scene in 1992 and became the full-time pop music critic for the organization's Oakland Tribune in 2006. He is a South Bay native and graduate of San Francisco State University.

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